The Sims 3

It’s official. The Nintendo 3DS will be released in Northa America on March 27. It will cost $249.99. The handheld I’ve been raving about since E3 is just about two months away. It will include, of course, the system with its 3D screen and built-in motion and gyro sensors, so it can track movements in 3D space. It will also include two modes called StreetPass and SpotPass.

As mentioned at E3, the StreetPass acts like the tag system on the Nintendo DSi. It will exchange game information from players as they walk by. Nintendo says items such as Mii character data, game maps or high scores can be transfered. Meanwhile, SpotPass lets the 3DS update regularly over WiFi even while in sleep mode.

The built-in software seems similar to the DSi except that the 3DS can act as a pedometer and players can earn Play Coins that can be used in other compatible games and applications. I can see it being used in games like Pokemon. It also features a Mii Maker or you can import the ones from your Wii. According to the press release, “Nintendo DSi and Nintendo DSi XL owners will be able to transfer games downloaded from the Nintendo DSi Shop onto their new Nintendo 3DS systems.” Quite frankly, I’m more excited for Virtual Console games (Game Boy and Game Boy Color games so far) being available for download and the Nintendo eShop taking cash instead of point cards.

It’s been a long time, almost a decade, since I’ve played a proper Sims game. I thankfully never bothered with The Sims Online. I missed the boat on The Sims 2 because I was too far stuck in the land of consoles. Lastly, The Sims 3 came out and I didn’t have a PC that could run it. (Yes, I need to upgrade.) Thankfully, EA has decided to bring the latest edition of the series to consoles with minimal compromises. But before jumping in, I had to ask Azure Bowie-Hankins, assistant product manager for EA, for some tips for returning fans. The Sims fanatic knows her way around the world, and here’s what she told me ahead of the game’s release Oct. 26.

1. Feel free to create Sims. That’s what the game is about right? Don’t be afraid to model them after family members, friends, fictional characters. You should make two or three of them and start experimenting. You can fulfill their lifetime wishes or go against them. You can nurture your Sims or make their lives full of misery. You never know how they’ll react until you try things out.

2. If you’re going to build a big house, make sure you hire a maid. Sims are messy creatures and if you have a mansion, you may spend all your time telling them to clean up instead of letting them work on their careers or other hobbies.

3. The musician or science career track have their perks. Azure likes having her Sim be a musician because it’s something she personally can never do. Part of the game is about living out fantasies virtually. If you’re more practical about your career goals, it’s good to go with the science track. When you hit the top level, you can create a helpful robot.

4. Stay away from kids if you’re novice. Just like in real life, children can be a handful. If you’re new to this, Azure recommends you live in a house full of young adults. You don’t have to worry about as many people. In The Sims 3, if you don’t take care of your kids, then child protective services can take them away. You can even be in weird situations where you adopt a child in your neighborhood after the social workers had taken them away from the parents. To me, that sounds like drama.

5. You can have career without having a career. This is how Azure likes to play. There’s enough outside activities that players can earn enough money for a decent living. I suppose this could be interpreted as a home business. But what’s great is that it makes your schedule more flexible compared to a regular nine-to-five job.

The Crysis and The Sims franchises have been PC staples for a few years now. They were made for keyboard and mouse, and not counting spin-offs, they’ve remained on PCs for the most part. But this generation of high-definition consoles has the features to handle whatever these PC games can throw at them. The result is that Crysis 2 and The Sims 3 are finally making it over the the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360.

At EA’s summer showcase, I had a chance to check out both. I played Crysis 2 on a PC running similar specs to the Xbox 360. I had an Xbox 360 controller in my hand, and I was good to go. Being a console gamer, this was my first time experiencing Crytek’s latest shooter, and I was wondering what all the fuss was about.

Graphically, the game looked beautiful. Set in New York, Crysis 2 does a great job rendering the major landmarks of the city. Crytek captures the details of places such as Grand Central Terminal and the MetLife Building next door. Of course, all of it is in ruins because the city has become a war zone against an alien race, but still, there’s definitely a sense of place that most shooters don’t have.

You’ll be in firefight in the main concourse of the Terminal and notice how the team accurately nails the escalators and the kiosks. I’m a sucker for games that re-create real life places. I got a kick out of what High Voltage did with The Conduit and that sense of place is something I loved about Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, but Crysis 2 is on a whole other level.

Pros: It’s The Sims but with prettier graphics, they didn’t mess too much with success; The personality trait based AI is hours of fun in itself; All the vaguely-RPG elements make it more of a game; The series’ humor is intact; Really, who doesn’t love The Sims?

Cons: The default lifespan for Sims is ridiculously short; Like in real life, the work week is dull and drags on seemingly forever

Verdict: Don’t deny it, you love The Sims. And you’ll love this worthy evolution of the series too.

There’s a palpable sense of excitement in the Octagon. That’s what they call this room in the Electronic Arts campus in Redwood City. It’s as small as an apartment living room with a couch in the corner, a flat-screen TV off to the side and, of all things, a Dreamcast in one of the cabinets. I ask the EA employees what they use the room for and why the funny name; they say it’s where they have Rock Band sessions and Warhawkmarathons.

To me, it’s a strange kind of man cave containing the manliest game ever created. I’m talking, of course, about The Sims 3. (OK, I was just joking about the manly part. This isn’tGrand Theft Auto IV.) The game that fostered my Ikea-nesting instincts throughout college is on its third iteration and a lot has changed since the Will Wright helmed the project more than nine years ago.

Since then, the game has spawned dozens of add-on packs, a handful of spin-offs and expanded on the Web. The Sims has become so big that it’s its own department within the company right up there with EA Sports and EA Games. Suffice to say, the franchise, which lets players create virtual people and care and control their lives has been, has been successful.

With the new game, EA Redwood Shores expands the universe even further, adding a living, breathing town with which the players can interact. It’s where they’ll find jobs, where they’ll go to hang out, go on dates and eventually propose. But I’m getting a little ahead of myself there. Associate Grant Rodiek started me off with the creation process, where players can choose to make characters at different age groups from infants to senior citizens.More on the SIms 3 on the jump

Electronic Arts warned last week that it would be pushing back the launch of Godfather II. Today it announced how far.

The open-world Mobster strategy game is now slated to launch on April 7 in North America and April 10 in Europe. Previously, the company planned for Godfather II to hit store shelves later this month.

When it reported its holiday-quarter earnings last week, EA announced that it was delaying Godfather II and two other games: The Sims 3 and the PC version of Dragon Age: Origins. Company officials said they were delaying the games to revamp their marketing plans, hoping to generate bigger buzz for them.

EA said then that it was pushing back The Sims 3to June and Dragon Age: Origins until the holidays this year.

The delays followed a quarter in which EA posted a big $2 a share loss and fell well shy Wall Street’s expections. EA missed Wall Street’s numbers even though those had already been significantly reduced after the company alerted investors in December that it expected poor results.

3:13 Rod Humble segues from SimAnimals to The Sims 3. He promises spiral staircase for those who still play The Sims 2. You know who you are.

“We just launched The Sims 2 Store. It will build up to the Sims 3,” Humble says. Then he goes into a general description of what’s in store for players and shows a trailer.

“The Sims 3 will be coming 2009. Youâ€™ll be able to change everything in the world. The world will have a change. Characters will be comitmmentphobes. What happens in one side of town reflects another part of town.”

The Sims 3 trailer reminds me of the Budweiser “Whazzup” commercials back in the early millenium. There’s just a lot of cellphone use in the clip.